Harry Potter and the Gate of Malum

This is a rewrite. We take the basics, like Voldie's rise and defeat, but ignore everything else. There is no Sorcerer's Stone. Quirrell was killed on his year in the Black Forest and Lupin is now the DADA teacher. Knowing that, we start from scratch and create our own version of events. And here they are...


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Harry Potter and the Gate of Malum

Chapter One: Looking Forward to an Eventful Future...

The train station was buzzing with activity, children hastily boarding the train, old friends catching up with each other, families saying their good-byes as their family members ran off towards the Hogwarts Express.

And he, he thought miserably, was all alone.

The Dursleys had dropped him off quickly, barely giving him time to get his luggage from the trunk before Mr.Dursley slammed his foot upon the gas and sped away.

Then there was the part about trying to actually get INTO the station, which was something that had frustrated him completely until he spied a wizard family entering platform nine and three quarters.

And now it was time to actually board the train.

Harry shook his head before climbing the few stairs that lead him into his car. He still couldn't believe all this..

~

In typical first year fashion, Ron tried to remain calm. Also in typical first year fashion, he failed miserably. Fortunately, it was such typical behavior, to act otherwise would have drawn an unnatural attention to oneself. Such attention avoided. Ron firmly refused to hold his mothers hand. He managed that. But Ginny proved another matter entirely...

For two members of the crowd on the platform, it wasn't their first year. Nor their second. Fred and George Weasley were proudly starting their third year at Hogwarts, and they couldn't wait to be off. Their trunks were full... not exactly bursting with the regular school supplies, but mostly filled with the "essentials." Dungbombs, Fillibuster Fireworks, the like. The trunks wouldn't have been able to carry everything the twins wanted to bring... But the twins didn't have to bring everything they wanted with them.

"Third year, George!"

"That's right, Fred!"

"We'll soon be free on weekends..."

"Free to go to Hogsmeade!"

And everyone knew what that meant. Everyone including Mrs. Weasley.

"Oi, you two. Look out for your little brother, alright? And stay out of trouble!"

"Right, mum."

"We will!"

Ah, that's right... Their little brother. A sudden new opportunity for teasing, in case Percy proved to get boring. Not that that was likely to happen...

"You about ready, Ron?"

"Or d'ya need Mum to hold your hand a bit more?"

~

Platform nine and three-quarters was indeed crowded. But to one such second year student, the nervous tension that had accompanied her on her first year was no longer present. Nevertheless, despite the fact that she had already boarded the train some time ago, Cho Chang was still having one hell of a time bidding her Muggle father farewell from the small compartment window she was currently hanging out of.

"I'll be perfectly fine, Daddy!... YES, I have all my books an'--my broom?" Cho ducked her head back inside to double-check her luggage beneath her seat, an act which nearly cost the raven-haired girl her faded baseball cap. "I uh... yes, I have it right here with me too..."

After much reassurement and whatnot, Cho was finally able to sit back and relax within her vacant compartment. Taking her baseball cap off for the meantime, Cho traced a slender digit across the blue and bronze patch of a golden snitch at its front and grinned.

"No more Muggle games for me..." she mused aloud.

~

Azraelle nodded only half paying attention to what her parents were telling her as far as last minute pointers on what other students she should avoid socializing with and things like that. They had been somewhat worried about this because in their opinion 'they let just anyone into Hogwarts these days'. Azraelle offered her parents a feigned smile and promised she'd heed their advice. As soon as she had finished telling them that, she was nearly knocked over by her younger brother Elbryan, who had now attached himself to her in a tight embrace. Shaking her head, she patted him on the head and managed to pry him off without wrinkling her clothing to noticeably. Saying her good-byes to her family she turned and boarded the train.

Walking through the compartment to find her seat, passing others but not really noticing them as she looked straight ahead green eyes looking around lazily for her seat. Sliding another compartment door open, she spotted her black cat snoozing on her seat. Once again not paying much attention to the other students (if any) in the compartment, she picked up the feline gingerly so as not to stir him too much. Carrying the cat in her arms, she sat down and placed him upon her lap so he could continue his nap. Shifting her gaze out the window, she watched the families say their good-byes, animals wander about the platform, and other students struggle with their trunks. Some of the students were obviously with Muggle parents because of the way their parents looked so surprised at being on the platform at all. Azraelle then saw some of the students chasing their cats or toads around trying to get control of them.

"Mother and Father were right." Azraelle said aloud as she turned her attention away from the window. "They will let just anyone into Hogwarts..."

~

Harry blew a few messy sections of ebony hair out of his eyes before dragging his luggage down the aisle. Where was he going to sit...

There was a seat open next to a red headed kid, part of the family he had seen entering the platform before, maybe?

"Oh well," He thought with a sigh "Hopefully the seat isn't taken.."

Harry cleared his throat slightly, motioning to the seat with his hand.

"Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?"

Ron turned to face the dark haired boy. He almost said "why, no, do take a seat." or something on that level.

Of course those words made their way through his throat, then found themselves as immobile as the rat that snoozed in his pocket. After a brief moment of wide eyed staring, as he sized up the legend that faced him, Ron said something along the lines of "Wino! DOKE SEEED!". After giving his numerous freckles ample crimson camouflage, he drew a breath. "You..Your HIM!" he managed to gasp...

Confusion set in, his brow furrowed slightly as he tried to make sense of the other's reaction, until, that is, he noticed where the boy's eyes were resting. His forehead.

He still had to get used to people knowing who he was before he knew who THEY were. It was somewhat annoying, but he couldn't control it.

He sighed slightly, and nodded, before hastily changing the subject

"So is it all right for me to sit here?"

~

Draco Malfoy slouched in his seat aboard the train. He glanced out the window at the crowded platform. Families were everywhere; talking, shouting, laughing, crying... His attention shifted to Crabbe and Goyle who were trying to shove their trunks under their seats across the aisle. (Each of them needed two seats in which to fit their bulk.)

'Goyle, get my trunk for me, would you?' Draco drawled. 'No, not there... Put the other end in first... Yes... Very good ...' His last comment was said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Suddenly, he sat upright and looked out the window again. He thought... could it be? ... he thought he'd heard the name Harry Potter...

~

Idly nibbling on a Chocolate Frog (and tucking the card into his pocket: Morgoth), Professor Remus J. Lupin gazed for the first time in over 20 years at the huge blazing red steam engine labeled 'Hogwarts Express' in bold gold letters. Waving his wand lightly at his luggage, he sent it zooming into an empty compartment, then followed his trunk into the train and promptly fell asleep.

~

Azraelle sat thinking as she idly stroked her feline companions fur and let out slight sigh. Looking down at the ebony colored cat, she listened to him purr comfortably as he slept. He looked rather peaceful, but his body was making her lap uncomfortably hot and her foot was falling asleep. Taking little consideration for the cat's comfort, she picked him up and promptly dropped him onto the seat next to her. The cat gave a low meow of discomfort, but then curled up again to doze off once more.

Getting up to stretch her leg a bit, Azraelle decided to go ahead and change into her new Hogwarts robes just for the sake of doing something. Brushing off her skirt of any kind of lint or other offending particle, she sighed again and kneeled down to get her trunk from beneath her seat.....

~

It was his third year at Hogwarts and he wasn't going to fuss. Much. His sister Magnolia was a first year. Things would be a little different with her around. Damien simply shrugged. There would be time to worry later. Now he just needed to get to Hogwarts. He would try to sleep on the way. If he could was a different story all together. He ran a hand through his short white hair. He had already put his stuff in its place. Damien laid his head down and slowly drifted into sleep.

"DAMIEN!!"

A few turned in the seats to glare at the lime-headed little girl who was bounding down the car's aisle, her gleeful yelp being a bit too high pitched for some of the students to handle.

She, however, hardly noticed, and if she did she didn't care.

Hopping into the seat beside her brother, eleven-year-old Magnolia Vallant decided it would be fun to plug poor Damien's nose with her fingers as he tried to sleep.

He made such a funny noise, she couldn't resist.

"Damien! Wake up! C'mon, wake up!! I hafta talk to you!"

Damien stirred. Something was preventing him from sleeping. He opened his eyes only to see his sister, plugging his nose with her fingers. SO that's what woke him up. He pulled her fingers out of his nose and rubbed it till it was all red. He yawned.

"What is it Magnolia?" He looked at his sister wondering what she wanted.

~

"Ummm... Of course!" Ron finally managed meekly, and proffered his hand. "I'm Ron by the way," he greeted...

Harry flashed Ron a grin as he sat down, taking the other's hand and shaking it. He seemed pleasant, and Harry was glad to have made a friend before he got to the school. It would have been pretty...awkward not knowing anyone.

"I think I saw you outside before. Was that your family?"

Though, before Ron could answer, Harry's eyes widened as a toad materialized out of thin air and plastered its self against his new friend's face.

~

Twelve-year old Terrence Higgs, slimy git and bitingly sarcastic asshole extraordinaire, was preparing for yet another fun-filled year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An angry yowl alerted him to his pet's presence. He glanced idly at his pure white cat, Flufflemuffins. She seemed extremely disgruntled about something, sliding her claws in and out of her paws and glaring most intelligently at the unconcerned boy.

"You must stop staring at people like that, Flufflemuffins," Terrence said, adjusting his dark black locks so that they fell across his eyes just so. "After all, if word got out that you weren't all that you seem to be, the results would be most unpleasant. For the both of us." So said, he turned his attention to his black Hogwarts robes, flicking an imaginary bit of dust off of them and straightening his cloak.

Pulling a mirror out of his trunk and examining himself, he smiled, displaying two rows of perfectly straight, even teeth. After all, he wasn't that bad to look at, with dark blue-gray eyes and black hair, and a rakish grin that his mother often said would break the heart of many a girl.

"My, you are a handsome git, aren't you?" he said to himself, grinning widely.

"Don't get so full of yourself, dear," said two voices, although the tone in which they were said was quite different indeed. One was his mirror, which he casually threw onto the seat beside him and turned to glance at the source of the other voice, which came from behind him.

A pretty young woman of around 20 years of age glared at him, standing in the spot where the snow-white cat had stood before. She wore a modest blouse and skirt, both pure white, and her hair was also the same color, shining and reflecting the sunlight from the window beside her. Her eyes were like chips of ice, flashing with anger as she continued, "I may have been assigned as your bodyguard, but that doesn't mean that I have to watch you preen like a peacock, you disgusting little brat," she spat.

Her name was Jessica Thymes, and she was a professional assassin. She was wanted in over thirty countries across the world for crimes ranging from theft to murder to inciting rebellion. Her knife and wand were up for the highest bidder, and she had never failed a mission (except for that once, but let's not talk about that, shall we?).

And she was baby-sitting a spoiled runt. Terrence Higgs was the son of Jonathan Higgs, the enormously wealthy and corrupt overlord of Knockturn Alley, and one of the only men in the Wizarding World who had both the connections and the financial resources to hire her.

And he had taken full advantage of his wealth when he had ordered her, Jessica Thymes, internationally feared assassin, to look after his spawn for an entire 7 years. Seven whole years! Merlin's beard, seven years of her life just swallowed up, just like that! She would have refused and killed the codger, but she suspected that Jonathan wasn't completely defenseless, and even if she did manage to kill the old bat, the odds of herself escaping Higgs Manor alive were slim to none.

So she had accepted. A year into the deal, she was already regretting her decision with every single ounce of will in her body. But professional's pride (she idly thought that perhaps professional's pride could be overlooked just this once) demanded that she see this out to the end, and the enormous amount of money offered by Mr. Higgs had gone far in convincing her to keep her part of the bargain.

Terrence smiled fondly at the woman in front of him, fully aware that she knew over fifty ways of killing him soundlessly off the top of her head. He was also fully aware of the fact that she was bound by magical contract not to, thus allowing him to rib her mercilessly.

"Are you feeling yourself attracted to my no-doubt irresistible good looks, Jessy?" he purred. If looks could kill, Terrence would have been six feet under. As it was, he continued grinning casually, calmly facing Jessica. "And you really should get back into your animal form, Flufflemuffins," he commented, as Jess winced at her assumed name, but silently changed back into the fluffy white cat known to the world as Flufflemuffins. Terrence grinned yet again, settling back into his seat. Indeed, it looked like it would be yet another amazing school year at Hogwarts.

~

Humming lightly to herself, Azraelle ran her hands over the surface of her robe making sure to straighten every visible wrinkle, no matter how slight. Once she was satisfied with the way she looked in her new robes, a slight smile dawned upon her lips. Reaching into her neatly organized trunk, she pulled out her hairbrush and idly began brushing her vivid cerulean colored hair.

After a little while of brushing her hair, something within her trunk caught her eye. Placing the brush down on the seat, she reached in and picked up a small velvet box that seemed to have been tucked into her trunk without her knowing. Holding it in her hands she looked at it for a second, then opened it revealing a shining pendant stung on a silver chain. Smile turning into a smug smirk, Azraelle held the necklace in her hand and watched it swing back and forth slowly.

"I was wondering how much longer it would be until my parents would give me this heirloom....." Azraelle thought to herself as she put the necklace on and admired it.

Placing the brush and box back into her trunk and closing it, the emerald-eyed girl stood up feeling even better about herself than she had originally. Raking a hand through her hair, smirk still plastered on her features, she decided to take a little walk through the train in hopes of finding either someone to converse with or just someone whose very existence could be amusing.

~

One Trevor the Toad had gotten loose among the chaos of squabbling and excited students. Hermione sighed as she scanned the narrow train car. "Where are you, Trevor!? COME OUT THIS INSTANT!!"

With a surprised shriek, Hermione felt something wet and cold latch onto her ankle. She kicked her foot out, sending the thing flying in a random direction, followed by a yelp of shock. "Erm... sorry."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the toad that stuck to Ron's face. "TREVOR! Get off his face immediately!!! Oh, come here you!" she reached out and pried the stubborn toad off of Ron's face. "Dreadfully sorry. Are you all right?"

Trevor croaked angrily.

"Is that yours?" Ron said with a hint of disdain in his voice, peering at the toad. "Of all the familiars, the only one I can think of more unfathomably ridiculous than rats," he poked Scabbers, who was sleeping, to punctuate his point, "is toads"...

~

A grin broke out onto Magnolia's face as she scrambled back into the seat beside her brother, releasing his nostrils from her wrath.

His nose was pink now, which just caused her to giggle slightly.

"I just don't know how you can SLEEP through everything..

Well, maybe it's 'cause you've been on here before. I'm too excited to sleep..."

She paused, crossing her arms and narrowing her honey colored orbs at her elder brother.

"And no picking on me just 'cause you're two years ahead of me!"

~

Terrence was toying with his chess set, making the white king seduce the black queen and drag her behind a makeshift curtain, when a pretty young girl in immaculate robes wandered by. He glanced at her once, and was starting to turn his attention back to the white king's antics when he did an abrupt double take, staring at the girl's back as she passed by.

Jessica gave Terrence a curious glance as he suddenly jumped up and bolted out of his compartment like a man possessed. She meowed once, signifying her annoyance, and silently padded after him like a good bodyguard.

Terrence chased after the vision of loveliness frantically, drawing many cries of indignation from the other Express passengers. Just three feet from his target his foot landed squarely on an empty owl cage. For a moment he stood on it, shuffling his feet and windmilling his arms, looking for all the world like a cartoon character running on a giant barrel. Then he lost his balance and crashed into the person in front of him.

Jessica gave a catty sigh and idly wondered how much of his hospital fee was going to come out of her pay. She wandered over to his side and nudged him carefully with a paw; surely he wasn't dead?

As the dust dissipated, it was clear that Terrence Higgs was far from dead. In fact, he had miraculously managed to avoid any injuries at all, but he was in a position that would have been extremely scandalous had he been a few years older. As it was, it was merely incredibly embarrassing.

His right hand had slammed into the floor besides Azraelle's head, and it was currently supporting most of his weight. His other hand, however, had managed to rest softly on the girl's left breast, and his right knee was nestled between her legs. He stared for the long moment that was infinity, his cheeks slowly reddening before he scrambled backwards as if Azraelle had suddenly burst into flames; it certainly looked as if his face had.

"S-s-s-sorry about that... Wasn't going where I was looking- err- gooking where I was lo-" Terrence stuttered, but he shut up before he could make even more of a fool out of himself.

Many people who were on the Hogwarts Express swear to this day that a female white cat could be seen rolling across the floor, clutching her belly as she laughed hysterically.

~

Harry suppressed a chuckle as the exchange between Ron and Hermione's frog took place. Poor guy...

"I dunno, I think he suits you..."

Harry motioned towards the rat as the girl tried to reclaim her frog, who, of course, had no reaction what so ever, other than to release a snot bubble from its tiny nose.

~

Azraelle scrambled to her feet and immediately started to straighten her robes in hopes of lessening the overwhelming embarrassment of the unfortunate incident only moments before. Smirk having now left her and an interesting shade of red taking toll on her facade, Azraelle cleared her throat and ran her hand through her hair compulsively. Once she had made sure her appearance was in order, she turned to the cause of her sudden fall. font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho"'>The redness of embarrassment mixed with anger still burning her cheeks ever so slightly, Azraelle did manage to be more coherent than Terrence.

"That was completely uncalled for you clumsy oaf," she said looking at him with an ice-cold stare, emerald eyes narrowed. "Although I'd so very like to deck you at this very moment, good manners forbid such barbaric actions..."

Terrence sat staring at the girl of his dreams, who had just insulted him and broken his heart. Slowly, he got to his feet and walked out of the compartment, his feet dragging ever so slightly on the floor. "Sorry," he said softly, as the door linking to two cars slid shut with an audible click.

Inside his compartment, Terrence drew his wand out of his trunk (Ten and a quarter inches, pleasantly rigid, good for hexes) and pointed it at the doors. "Generomora," he muttered, locking the doors and effectively dividing the train into halves, but he didn't care.

Flopping down onto his seat, he sobbed pitifully. "I WANT MY MUMMY!!!!" he howled. Fortunately, the Hogwarts Express walls were completely soundproof. On his long-forgotten chess set, the black queen was beating the white king with a chair as he huddled beneath a table.

Jessica was laughing so hard that tears were running down her furry little face.

~

Two chocolate-colored hues snapped open at the coasting train gave an involuntary jolt on its tracks. Fully awake now, Cho sat upright in her seat and jerked her gaze automatically towards her compartment door, which still remained shut.

Bugger... have I been sleeping all this time? Ho hum... I guess I'd better change into my robes before we arrive...

Tracing the faint imprints on her face left behind from the zipper of her jacket she had oh-so-conveniently been resting her cheek against, Cho grumbled, then busied herself with rummaging through her luggage for her robes in the growing darkness of her empty compartment.

Emerging from her compartment moments later, now garbed in black Hogwart's robes and with her ebon hair hanging in loose threads from the unkempt braid it was bound in, Cho trudged her way down the bustling corridors, hardly aware that she had forgotten to change out of her red sneakers with the Smurf laces. Upon reaching the cart lady however, she immediately sobered up once the scent of sugary-goodness met her nose. Conjuring a handful of silver sickles from her robe pocket, the petite Ravenclaw 2nd year slipped easily through the swarm around the cart, as she was quite accustomed to using her miniature height to its full advantage. It wasn't long until she had wormed her way out again, her pockets now bulging with sweets, and her lips mirthfully curving into a grin as she chewed 'er gum...

~

Lupin jolted awake, his eyes wide with horror and, instead of a wizard's wand, a small silver cylinder clutched in his hand. Jumping to his feet, he muttered warily to himself, "I feel a great disturbance in the force... as if a thousand voices suddenly cried out in terror... and then were sil-" He abruptly cut off and watched, mouth hanging open slightly as a bushy-haired girl with rather large front teeth chased a distressed looking toad right past his compartment and into the next.

Pocketing his lights- err... silver unidentified cylinder with a rather embarrassed grin on his face, Remus peered into the train car beside his and was greeted with the most unusual sight of a flame-haired boy. Of course, that wouldn't have been all that strange if it hadn't been for the toad clinging to his face. As it was, Lupin couldn't get a clear view of the boy's visage, but he certainly had an unobstructed look at the black-haired boy sitting beside him.

A small part of his mind mused how James would be proud to see that his son was already involved, indirectly or not, in what was undoubtedly shaping up to a grand piece of mischief. The other, more sensible, non-Marauder part sighed, slapped itself in the face with an imaginary palm, rolled up its proverbial sleeves, and waded into the figurative muck.

~

"Don't worry, Maggy, I won't pick on ya because of that...but I might pick on you because yer my little sister!" Damien laughed and messed up his sister's lime hair. He heard wheels rolling by and looked to see the snack cart. He got two chocolate frogs and gave one to his sister hoping to keep her occupied for awhile. "Here ya go." Damien said with a grin. He opened his and quickly popped it into his mouth. Yum. His favorite.

~

Azraelle 'hmphed' softly and turned to go back to her seat to prevent any other incidents of embarrassment. As she started walking, Azraelle tried to get her mind off her fall as she thought about the things that usually made her happy.

"At least I've got one thing going good for me, I simply can't feel too bad when my parent's have given me a gift such as..." Azraelle started thinking as she placed her hand on the collar of her robe expecting to feel the silver chain, which was supposed to be there.

...Unfortunately, it wasn't. Stopping in mid step, Azraelle frantically shook her robes hoping to see the chain fall to the floor, but there was nothing. In a slight panic, she looked around, then promptly ran towards the compartment she had been in only moments before. She attempted to open the door, but it seemed to be locked.

Cursing slightly under her breath, she ran back to her seat, opened her trunk, and retrieved her wand. Once she reached the locked doors, she pointed her wand at the door. "Alohomora" she said aloud as the door clicked open. Hurrying into the compartment, she looked around the floor then glanced over to Terrance.

"I've lost something very important somewhere around here..." she said noticeable panic in her voice as she seemed to have forgotten insulting him a while before. "Have you seen it? It's a long silver chain with a pendant on it... It's an heirloom...I-I think it fell off or something in the fall..."

~

15-year-old Penelope Clearwater sat quietly in her seat, her stiff, rigid posture and 'holier-than-thou' disposition repelling most normal students aboard the train. A shiny, prominent Prefect badge adorned her black school robes, spelling out loud and clear that SHE is superior to YOU and thus, deserves respect.

Nonetheless, she wasn't very popular among anyone below her brain capacity.

The snotty fifth year preferred to read up on her material than converse with less intelligent life forms. So that was exactly what she did---read Hogwarts, A History beside her caged great-horned owl. And this was what she planned to do during the entire trip. Hopefully, there will be no unfortunate interruptions...

~

Fortunately, Terrence had stopped whinging before Azraelle entered his car, so it was with dry, albeit rather red and puffy, eyes that he met Azraelle coming into his sanctuary. He registered the note of panic in her eyes and quickly fished in his pockets. Something hard and cold met his fingers, and he drew out a long silver chain with a star-shaped, shining pendant on the end. A reptilian eye was engraved into the front, and it somehow shone brighter, blinding him for a moment as he held it in his hands.

A jolt of memory ran through his head, of when he was younger, before he had entered Hogwarts. His father had given him a tome of magical artifacts, in case one should ever happen to cross his path. Among them had been the True Cross, the Tiara of the Monkey King, and...

His eyes abruptly sharpened, crushes and love forgotten in the face of this unexpected treasure. "How in the world did you get your hands on the Eye of Malum?" he asked, eyeing the necklace with more than a little suspicion.

Flufflemuffins, having wandered in Terrence's compartment once the door was opened, stiffened with surprise upon hearing the name uttered. The Eye of Malum? The thing was supposed to have been lost a century ago, but there were still many families, Malfoys and Higgs included, were offering exorbitant sums of money for the little pendant. And here it was, hanging in front of her eyes! She had to summon every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep herself from stealing it and jumping out the window with it. She kept her gaze on it, however, her tail lashing back and forth. This bore watching.

Azraelle stared at the shining silver chain in Terrance's hand....Her silver chain and pendant... Panic turning to an uneasy feeling as he asked her about the necklace with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Azraelle smirked and laughed to herself as she took a step towards Terrance, emerald eyes staring right into his.

"How did I get a hold of that you ask?" She said with her smirk still prominent as she took yet another step towards him.

She stood then less than a foot from him in silence, until in one swift motion of her hand, she snatched the necklace from his hands without taking her eyes off him for a second.

"This particular necklace was a gift from my parents. It's been in the family for quite some time." She mentioned in an airy tone. "My relatives have always been rather fond of rare items so I wouldn't be surprised if they had picked it up on their travels."

Returning the necklace to its prior place around her neck, Azraelle put on her most innocent smile and looked at Terrance.

"I thank you very much for finding it for me," she said in her sweetest tone of voice. "And I apologize for my comments earlier. I'm sure you can't help being slightly uncoordinated."

With that said, Azraelle turned and started to make her way back to her own compartment.

"...bloody hell that was a bit awkward....luckily he probably doesn't know anything about it at all...." she thought as she sighed in relief.

~

Harry was about to say something to the girl with the frog, but was interrupted as a man's hand reached over and plucked the animal out of the girl's grasp, and deposited it in a small wooden box.

This man looked like a nice fellow, though he looked much older than they were. Could he be one of the teachers, perhaps?

This question was answered almost immediately, as the man plopped down into the seat across from the one he and Ron shared. He smiled and held out his hand, completely unconcerned with the state of his shabby robes.

"Hello. I'm Professor Remus Lupin, and I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the next seven years."

Harry took the hand that was offered to him and nodded.

"Er, nice to meet you. I'm Harry..."

~

Interesting things happen when people are bored. Great works of art have come into the world, just because the artist really had nothing better to do. And the greatest inventions? Randomly thought up to pass time. When you're bored, you either have to A) Catch up on sleep, or B) Find something to do.

The twins found things to do. And they were Interesting.

Interesting lollipops found their way onto the snack cart. In a rainbow of shades, and a bargain, too. They came in wonderful flavors, like Lime, Strawberry, Ketchup, and Pumpkin Pie. Of course... each lollipop had a charm added, a modified version (AKA the real, working version) of the same charm taught to Ron to use to change Scabbers' color. One lick would turn your hair the color of the lollipop... Who wants the pea-soup green one? Or maybe the orange? And don't forget Cotton Candy!

If lollipops weren't up to the person's taste, there were always the French Chocolates. One truffle would leave the eater speaking French for half an hour. Est-ce que tu comprends le francais? The German Gummi Bears were slightly less successful... there was a 50% chance that the eater would suddenly start Salsa dancing instead. Feel the rhythm.

A few unattended bags in the hall also caught the twins' attention. A few articles from each bag were substituted with things from another bag... Not the whole bag, because that would be too much, but just a few things so that upon quick inspection, things would look fine. But a boy would later unpack his bag to find several bras, and in place of her bras, a girl would find some smelly old gym socks and a bottle of aftershave. The twins justified their actions by telling themselves that they're just helping people meet each other. Nothing helps a person make friends like asking, "Hey, have you seen my thong?"

Pretty normal stuff, really. Nothing Truly Great. The twins were always going one-up on the previous prank, just waiting for the day that they hit Truly Great. Sure, the Prank of the Day was often the Topic of the Day... but the next day it was all but forgotten (aside from whoever the prank was on, of course). No, for something to be Truly Great, they had to find the right target. Who would that be, though?

A teacher.

Which one, though? Not McGonagall. Pissing off the head of one's house is just no good. Prof. Sprout wouldn't completely notice, Binns wouldn't at all, and poor Flitwick was tortured enough as it was. Dumbledore was just too cool, and so was Madame Hooch... and she was the ref for their game, so it getting on her bad list was a VERY bad idea. That left... Quite a few teachers, actually. Which one(s) would it be?

They had a fairly good idea...

~

"OOH!" Hermione gasped, pointing dramatically at Harry. "Yes, why didn't I see it before?? I've heard about you! I don't know who hasn't, but..."

Harry was startled by Hermione's finger being jabbed into his face, and he moved it to the side with a look of annoyance on his face.

"It's not polite to point..."

Hermione shook her head.

Lupin smiled warmly and shook the boy's hand. "Yes, Harry Potter. James' son, I believe? Have you learned many spells yet?"

(Obviously, the lycanthropic professor wasn't aware of poor Harry's suffering at the hands of the Dursleys... )

While still rather flustered by the toad incident, Ron dared to pry to the wizarding legend beside him. "Do you, umm you know..." he began gently, "remember anything of how you umm did 'it'?"...

Harry suddenly became slightly weary at all the questions being fired at him, most of which he was forced to give an answer which disappointed the one who asked.

Others, such as this, which he did not know how to answer.

"No. I don't....well, one thing I suppose. I remember a green light. But that's all..."

Not wanting to think about that, he turned to Lupin. "Well...er....not exactly... In fact, I'll probably be one of the only ones who can't cast a spell," he thought glumly.

He suddenly felt an even greater disdain for the Dursleys, if that was at all possible. How could they have..NOT told him anything...?

Before anyone could get anything else in, he decided to ask his own question, directing it at Lupin, who had mentioned his father.

"Did you really know my father? ...What was he like? If you don't mind me asking, that is... "

~

Higgs reluctantly yielded the pendant, giving Azraelle a suspicious glare.

Rare? Terrence thought. The Eye of Malum is unique. It's wanted for exorbitant sums across the world, and it also happens to be one of the most powerful Dark artifacts existing today. You're hiding something, girl. And I'll be keeping an eye on you from now on.

He continued to stare at the girl's back until the compartment door slid shut, and sat heavily on the cushy red leather seat. Seeing Jessica still rolling around in hysterics, he drew his wand and muttered, "Fluvius," drenching the cat with a jet of water from his wand.

It was a seething, sopping wet young woman who appeared in front of Terrence, fingers twitching like they ached to wrap themselves around his neck and shake until his head rolled off his shoulders. He couldn't help but notice that her clothes were wet, sticking to her body in all the right places. As if sensing his wandering gaze, Jessica growled fiercely,

"You little perverted runt, what the hell d'you think you're doing?"

Terrence ignored her outburst, a thoughtful look on his face. After a while, he turned to face the angry assassin.

"Could you deliver a message to my father?"

"I could. But I don't want to."

"Tut tut, Flufflemuffins. Either you deliver my message or you're out of a job." And your life, was the unspoken threat.

"Fine, fine, y'little brat. I assume it's about the necklace that girl brought?"

"Yes, it is. Tell my father that the Eye of Malum has been found."

"I know what it's called, brat."

With that, Jessica abruptly Apparated out of the train, presumably to Higgs Manor. She returned a moment later, bearing a message from Terrence's dad.

"He says to keep quiet about it, and above all not to let Lucius Malfoy get word of it. It'll be a bit prickly, because his son, Draco, is starting at Hogwarts this year. Try and conceal everything about the Eye," she recited.

Terrence nodded and spent the rest of the trip pondering the strange, beautiful girl and her.... unique possessions.

And speaking of Lucius Malfoy's son...

Draco wandered through the train looking for a way to kill time. He had tired of watching the scenery flash by the windows; besides, Crabbe and Goyle had fallen asleep and listening to their snoring strongly reminded him of a dying Jobberknoll.

He walked on, sucking on a cotton-candy flavored lollipop he'd bought off the snack cart. Suddenly he stopped. He could have sworn he'd heard the name Malfoy. Draco hesitated only for a second, then barged right into the compartment.

Its only occupant was a boy, who couldn't have been more than a year or so older than himself, and a fluffy white cat. But had the boy been talking to himself? Somehow, Draco didn't think so...

Terrence looked up as a young boy entered his car, sliding the door to the side and walking in as if he owned the place. Which, come to think of it, was the way Terrence walked too, but of course he didn't know that. The boy was licking a pink lollipop, and the extremely conceited look on his face was a wonder to behold.

Terrence took a wild guess. That must be Draco Malfoy. Then he noticed the boy's pale silver-blond hair was swiftly... turning pink?! He barely managed to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter, although he noticed that Jessica wasn't being so successful. As it was, he couldn't stop an amused smirk from spreading across his face. Nudging the cat Animagus behind a trunk with his foot, he held out a hand to shake.

"Draco Malfoy? Lucius Malfoy's son?" he asked, still smirking. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Your hair is most... unique, I must admit."

~

Lupin smiled warmly, his eyes growing distant as he remembered memories long past.

"You father was one of the best students Hogwarts has ever had," he said wistfully. "He and your mother were made Head Boy and Girl when they entered their seventh year. He was particularly good at transfiguration," said Lupin, his eyes twinkling with laughter at some hidden secret that only he knew.

"But I don't want to bore you with the hard facts about your father. James Potter, in addition to being one of the finest scholars produced by Hogwarts, was also one of the most mischievous pranksters in the school's history as well. In fact," Lupin murmured, a slight grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, "it's because of him that half of the Hogwarts toilet seats went missing and suddenly reappeared on the head of Headmaster Dumbledore during his graduation party. I think the professor was most amused."

But Remus suddenly stopped and put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"No need to worry, Harry. There are many Muggle-borns who have just as little knowledge of the wizarding world as you do. And even those from wizarding families don't really know that much. Unless, of course, you memorize your textbooks from cover to cover before arriving at Hogwarts. But," Lupin laughed, "who would bother to do that?" he asked, completely unaware that one such girl sat right beside him.

~

Your hair is most unique? Draco wondered briefly what the other boy meant by that comment. His silvery-blonde hair ran in the family, along with his other good looks, of course. Draco promptly forgot about it as he took the offered hand.

"That's right, I am a Malfoy," he drawled. "In fact, I thought I heard someone talking about my family just now..." He glanced suspiciously around the compartment, but of course could find no one else.

Terrence adopted a completely innocent look. "Are you sure? Because there's nobody in this compartment except for me, and surely you don't think I would talk to myself, would you?" he asked, making it seem as though the very idea was an insult to God's green earth. Behind him, Flufflemuffins meowed softly and burrowed into his trunk.

Draco gave Terrence another suspicious look and was about to say something when an announcement rang through the train.

"We shall arrive at Hogwarts in about 10 minutes. Please be sure to gather all your things. Leave your trunks; they will be brought up to your rooms later."

"I'd better go... See you at Hogwarts, I suppose," he said and began backing toward the door.

~

Azraelle entered her compartment and slid the door shut behind her and her feline friend seemed to just have woken up as he meowed lazily from his place upon the seat. Eyes seeming to be in an idle gaze, she walked over to the seat her cat wasn't occupying and promptly let herself fall back into it. The stark black cat looked at her oddly for a second with it's head tilted to the side and meowed as if asking her what was wrong with her.

"Heh...don't look so concerned, Visimar..." she said with a smile at the cat as he climbed onto her lap. "I was in a bit of an awkward situation but I managed to talk my way out of it of course..."

Visimar purred loudly as Azraelle scratched under his chin. With a serine kind of smile she rested her head back upon the seat and closed her eyes. Tucking the pendant into her robes, she could only hope that what awaited her at Hogwarts was a bit more tame than the events that took place on the train......